Author: Admin

Show season has officially started for us here at GHD!We kicked off our 2018 season with Ascot Spring Garden Show, a brand-new show for everyone involved.

We like to use our first show of the year as our product collection builder; putting together our favourite products into tailor made collections to enable everyone to #liveoutdoors.
Phew! We got it spot on with this one!
We launched plenty of brand-new products at Ascot including; DesignBoard composite decking, WWOO outdoor kitchens – including the Big Green Egg, Jalu cushions & trays, composite outdoor furniture, Namgrass artificial grass, and a fab new range of pots & planters.
We also showed off plenty of other favourites of ours including; Renson louvered canopies, Delivita pizza ovens, Uuni pizza ovens, Veito heaters & Gas firepits.

Fancy getting this look? Check out our website for all our products under the 'shop' section.

We are so excited to see this blog article on the Ascot Flower Show website! We are delighted to be sponsoring a RENSON Camargue canopy to sit in Catherine MacDonald’s Show Garden

See us there!

(*Repost*)

20th March 2018

Ascot Spring Garden Show: The Landform Spring Garden

Landform Consultants’ lead designer, Catherine MacDonald, has created a design suitable for a town or country garden. The linear style is modern and uncomplicated, making it the perfect space for entertaining, contemplating and relaxing.

Inspired by the aerial views of some of the most iconic landscape schemes this design has a stylish geometric layout with a twist: being designed on a 25° angle to the house. A snapshot of a larger garden, the design created will showcase a covered entertaining area and lawn enclosed by a mix of soft and structural planting. Points of interest within the space will include linear elements of natural stone paving, brick detailing, an elegant sculptural piece and contemporary furniture.

The planting will be suitable for the season with an emphasis on flowering trees, evergreen shrubs and perennials, having a colour palette in shades of blue, white and pale yellow. The garden will also include some Spring bulbs that are being grown to flower for the show.

The main feature of the garden, the entertaining area, will feature a Renson louvred canopy, supplied and installed by Garden House Design. The stylish canopy will be used to create a space in which ‘clients’ could relax and enjoy views of the garden whilst also feeling a sense of privacy.

This ‘outdoor room’ will be dressed with a dining set from Gaze Burvill’s latest collection – Levity. Simple and modern, the dining set is beautifully designed to suit smaller spaces and so will be perfect for entertaining guests under the canopy.

A focal point within the garden will be the sculptural piece, Torus, designed by David Harber. The chosen piece, positioned so it can be appreciated whilst sitting in the dining area, has a mirror polished stainless-steel finish, with subtle convex curves, that will provide reflections of the planting and features surrounding it.

“We’re excited that Landform Consultants are to be a part of the inaugural Ascot Spring Garden Show. It’s on our doorstep and the time of year means that we can showcase ideas and planting schemes different to those we would normally use in some of our other show gardens that take place later in the season.”

With valentines fast approaching, many of you may be stuck on what to do with your evening.
Go out?… Too expensive?
Go out out?… It’s a school night!
Go OUTdoors?… Why not?!

Here at Garden House Design we love getting outdoors, and we’d love to share with you some inspiration to take your valentines OUTdoors this year!

Lighting
Unfortunately we’ve not hit those long summer nights yet, so lighting is going to be your best friend on valentines! No matter what your budget, there’ll be some fab outdoor lighting options for you to pick from, whether that be cute fairy lights, or intimate LED coloured lighting. Whichever you choose, pop them outside and try to make a concentrated brightness in the middle which gradually fades out towards the edges. This lighting effect ties in great with our next idea…

Dining
We don’t expect you to sit down to a full 3 course meal outside in the middle of February, but we’ve got some divine dining ideas for you! Now you’ve got your lighting sorted you need to decide on how you want to dine. On a blanket of throws and cushions, or at an improvised dining table? This choice is entirely down to you, and the only thing that could possibly dictate is choice of food – let’s face it… Eating a self-prepared Michelin star meal isn’t going to be easy on blankets!
Now, if you’re lucky enough to have one of our Uuni or Delivita outdoor ovens, here’s where the magic happens! (Don’t worry if you don’t have one of these, we promise not to leave you out!) You can literally cook whatever takes your fancy, flatbreads, salmon, pizza, vegetables, steaks or really anything that enjoys short cooking times! We would probably choose pizza, but that’s because we can’t go a week without it coming up in conversation in the office. Simply cook up your meal and enjoy!

Entertainment
This requires a tiny bit a preparation, but only to the extent of nipping down to the beach and grabbing 9 stones and drawing noughts & crosses on them. We all played Tic Tac Toe as a kid, and for a light bit of entertainment whilst you’re outside you can’t go wrong!

So that sums up our bit of valentines inspiration for you!

For even more ideas to get you in the mood click here to view our LOVE Outdoors Pinterest board.

My Alarm goes off …At 4.30am which is never a pretty sight as the screen flashes, but somehow, it’s ok as I’m going on an adventure! Hitting the road shortly after, I head to Gatwick and look for details of my flight to Amsterdam.

I’m responsible for…
Everything “creative” hence my title Creative Director. My role is very much about making our company values achieve our mantra of “live outdoors”. From marketing, sales and product sourcing my job is to ensure that we can deliver this in a unique and creative way, and offer a concierge service for everything outdoors. With the vast array of products and services we offer, this is no mean feat, and I’d sometimes love a magic power which allows me to not sleep for one night a week so I could work through, but without the train crash of tiredness that would come afterwards.

Today’s adventure is all about …
Meeting with the UK & Netherlands WWOO Outdoor Kitchen teams at their main headquarters as we have been chatting through partnership plans for 2018 for a while now. After meeting the guys and driving to the offices, I’m getting excited. It’s brilliant to see products in catalogues, but there is nothing better than seeing the items up close, something we insist on when considering new products for our portfolio.

WOW I wasn’t disappointed …
When we went and had a tour around the outdoor kitchen displays …. OMG they really are fabulous! The ability to create personalised kitchens for my clients is going to be great! We’ve got two colours, both of which are stunning, different cooking elements with gas, wood or coal options, shelves, sinks, and firepits. Not to mention we can create in 3 different heights. We’ll be able to sell direct to our client base of both consumer and trade customers – another huge tick on my agenda.

I’m most excited about …
Ok sorry but it’s the shelves! Outdoor shelves for a clutter monster {aka outdoor stylist} like me is going to make my job so much easier, and I know my clients will also love the fact they can dress their kitchens with herbs, vases, bottles, drinks and really make for a personalised outdoor space.

My most memorable moment …
The hospitality, creativity and enthusiasm of the all the lovely people I met. For us it’s not just about buying a product to sell on, anyone can do that. It’s about the people we are buying from. Our criteria for choosing great products is simple; if we would use it in our own client designs, or have it in our own homes, then it works.

The worst part of my job …
Coming back after a trip like this all fired up and then hitting the to-do list that I had managed to escape from for just a day, but I’m not complaining!

The best part of my job …
What we do! making great outdoor spaces for people to enjoy and encouraging them to live outdoors even longer.

After work …
Arrived home very late in the evening, to a house that was almost asleep, but I still took a little time to look around my own home which we’ve redesigned ourselves, and then popped my head to the back windows to see my own garden, content and excited about WWOO become our next partners!

For more details, see details on our website, and watch this space as we announce our very own WWOO kitchen going into our display centre in February ready for you to get up close and personal.

Venturing out on Halloween isn’t everyone’s cup of tea … or coffee in this offices case, but we leapt at the opportunity to be outdoors! It was more spectacular than spooky for us as we got the opportunity to pop on our Garden House Design jackets and accompany Rensons official photographer Adrian Toon to go snap some shots of our favourite louvered canopies from Autumn 2017!

Renson Camargue. Photo credits – Adrian Toon a2nOn such a beautiful morning we headed straight to the South Coast which was a no brainer considering the fresh sea air that greeted us once we were there. The crisp blue sky made the ideal backdrop for our white Camargue. We sprung into action to make the most of the sunshine and all started snapping away.

We’ve always known what a stunning addition these canopies can be to an outdoor space but being able to be out enjoying one personally was fantastic. We got to sit down for a moment and truly embrace the contemporary and peaceful feel this sleek design had to offer. If there was a coffee going for Debs she couldn’t have been more in her element.

Unfortunately our time here was done, we got some fantastic shots of the Camargue and soaked up just a snippet of outdoor living under the superb RENSON louvered canopy.

We need not fear that our Halloween adventure was over, we hopped back in the van and headed to our next destination! Renson Camargue. Photo Credits – Adrian Toon a2n

On the road to our next stop the excitement bounced around the van, after having seen one we were keen to see another. A stunning grey Camargue nestled within beautiful greenery instantly grabbed our eyes… How could it not?

We pulled back the loggialu sliding doors to reveal a fantastic built in hot tub – a little corner of heaven. Needless to say we weren’t able to enjoy this one quite as much as the last due to work uniform not quite being appropriate hot tub attire! Adrian got some amazing photos here really utilising the features the Camargue had to offer, but before we knew it Halloween had taken its wicked turn on us, and it was time to head back to the office.

We don’t know when we will be out and about again, but we will not dwell on that! Instead we take from that day the love of being outdoors, the true realisation that you really can use these canopies for whatever you like – be it a hot tub shelter, a seating area, a kitchen dining area, the possibilities are endless! Our moto has always been ‘live life outdoors’ and now more than ever is the time to be doing it!

What no Christmas cards from Garden House Design this year? How about a special Christmas tree for our local children’s hospice instead?

This year we decided to use the money we would have spent on Christmas cards on a huge Christmas tree for our local children's hospice, Chestnut Tree House, in Arundel, West Sussex.

Christmas has begun at Chestnut Tree House, as children, families, staff and volunteers gathered to switch on the lights on the giant Christmas tree outside the hospice.

The tree, a 17-foot-high Norwegian Spruce, was donated by, Garden House Design, in lieu of sending Christmas cards this year. We previously helped to build the hospice’s Woodland Walk, which was commissioned by Greenfingers charity and designed by Ann-Marie Powell. The Woodland Walk is a special wheelchair accessible pathway through the woods in the grounds of the hospice, which was completed in 2014 and since then we have maintained a close relationship with the hospice.

Rod Winrow, Garden House Design Director, said, “Chestnut Tree House is a charity close to our hearts and we are delighted to provide the tree for all the children and families to enjoy over Christmas. We hope our customers and industry colleagues agree this is a far more meaningful gesture than sending corporate Christmas cards this year”.

The tree has been decorated with an incredible 350 LED pixels, kindly donated by Worthing-based Pixelmotif. These are very special lights as they are brand new in the UK and each bulb is individually fully customisable. As part of the display the lights on the hospice’s tree have been programmed to reflect Chestnut Tree House’s colours of saffron gold with teal sparkles.

David Green, Director of Pixelmotif, said of the Chestnut Tree House, “It is such a unique and amazing place and we really hope the children get a lot of enjoyment from the lights over Christmas.”

The lights were switched on during the children’s Christmas party on Friday 9 December by Santa Claus who made a special early visit to the hospice to join in the fun and deliver presents for the children and young people.

Garden House Design are delighted to announce that as part of this years’ RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, we are proud to sponsor one of our favourite products, a Camargue® Louvered Roof Terrace Cover, to feature in The Squire’s 80th Anniversary Garden. This year Squire’s Garden Centres are celebrating 80 years of the joy of gardening and their 26th show garden at Hampton Court!

Award-winning designer Catherine MacDonald has created a suburban garden for a couple with grown up children who are looking for an unusual design for their linear, rectangular garden. The brief is to include an entertaining space with a sense of relaxation, an area of lush lawn, as well as practical space. It is in this entertaining space that the Camargue® Louvered Roof Terrace Cover will feature. The whole area will feel private and enveloping with a modern design scheme. The planting is soft and structural, using a warm Summer colour palette of whites, reds, oranges and yellows.

Equally exciting is that the Camargue® featured in the garden will be on display at the Squire’s Garden Centre in Milford, near Godalming this summer, where visitors will be able to view it in more detail and enquire about their very own Camargue® Louvered Roof Terrace Cover.

The Camargue® Louvered Roof Terrace Cover is an innovative aluminium terrace cover, equipped with rotating aluminium blades, creating adjustable sun protection and/or ventilation as required through the use of a handy remote control. When closed, the blades form a waterproof roof and during showers, concealed water channels drain rainwater away from the roof and out through the legs. A rain sensor is fitted to the Camargue® and upon detection of rain the roof automatically closes, making it the perfect solution for the British climate. Dimmable lights also feature in the roof meaning the outdoors can still be enjoyed even as the natural light fades. This isn’t where the innovation ends though – Camargue® terrace covers are infinitely customisable to your taste, add retractable side blinds, louvered wooden side panels, glass sliding doors and even heat and sound.

What’s more the Camargue® can be wall-mounted or free-standing and comes in a range of sizes.

Garden House Design are delighted to reveal that they have been commissioned to build the Crabtree & Evelyn show garden at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show this year. The show garden, titled The Botanical Studio, and designed by award winning garden designer Jade Goto, takes its inspiration from the traditional ‘Still Room’.

Still rooms existed at a time when the garden played an integral role in daily life – a time when fresh flowers, herbs and fruits from gardens and orchards were distilled to make fragrant waters for the bath and soothing essences for the skin while fruit preserves were also created to brighten the winter larder. Crabtree & Evelyn still model themselves on this, the early home apothecary, or ‘still room’. Long before the natural and wellness movement became popular, Crabtree & Evelyn was wholeheartedly embracing the riches of the natural world, introducing product ranges made with fruit, flower and plant essences.

The aroma from one of Crabtree & Evelyn’s fragrances or body products, are a carefully crafted blend of top, heart and base notes. This concept is brought to life in The Botanical Studio Garden through tiers that display the type of ingredients found at each of these stages. It’s as if you are walking through the scent itself.

Scented pathways take visitors on a fragrant journey, set out to reveal the perfume-inspiring qualities of flowers and botanicals used in Crabtree & Evelyn products.

The garden will be planted in stepped tiers reflecting the base, heart and top notes of classic perfumery creation. Raised planters of singular species temporarily tame the abundant nature of fragrant notes, allowing the viewer to stop and inhale the essence of each scent. This mono-planting is inspired by the perfume fields of Grasse in Provence.

At the garden’s heart sits a stunning glass botanical studio, inspired by the traditional still room where a Crabtree & Evelyn perfumer will be practising their art.

Garden House Design are no stranger to RHS Shows having so far received 5 RHS medals for their construction of show gardens over the past few years. Passionate landscapers and horticulturists, the team at Garden House Design are enthusiastically working behind the scenes to prepare for what will hopefully be their 6th RHS medal winning show garden.

Hampton Court Palace Flower Show takes place between the 5th and 10th of July.

We are very proud to be part of this exciting WorldSkills programme encourgaging more talented youngesters into our industry. Rod, one of our Directors is one of the judges so is delighted to be right in the thick of things!

And they are off!

APL WorldSkills UK finalists compete at Skills Show

The 2014 WorldSkills UK Landscape Gardening final is underway at the The Skills Show at the Birmingham NEC with six landscaping students competing for the ‘Best in the UK’ title.

After reaching the qualifying benchmark at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park in July the six students this morning started on the challenge of completing a garden design in just 18 hours over the next 3 days. The garden has once again been designed by Alexandra Froggatt. Their creations will need to be completed by 11 am on Saturday 15 November with the winner being announced at The Skills Show Big Celebration Event on Saturday evening.

The finalists Richard Carden from Reaseheath College, Sam Birks from Bishop Burton College, and Robert Wylie, Dean Thomson, Jonathan Buchanan and Ronan McLarnon from CAFRE will be scored in every aspect of landscape design including:

Plants and turf. This includes both plan and freestyle planting methods.

Judges for the competition include garden designer Jody Lidgard, who has run his own landscaping firm for over 18 years, award winning APL member Rod Winrow from Garden House Design and 2011 WorldSkillsUK Silver medal winner Simon Abbott.

As well as the competition, the APL will be hosting a showcase area where visitors will be able to view demonstrations on how to do paving, how to lay deck board and how to plant and stake a tree. Visitors will be invited to “Have a Go” at planting their own border with the help of Garden on a Roll with the most creative border winning a prize.

The APL would like to thank sponsors Greenwood Nursery, Greenline Plants, Makita UK, Jewsons, Marshalls and Suttons Seeds for their support for the show.

The APL is the organising partner for the Landscape Gardening section of the WorldSkills UK competition. The aim of the competition is to inspire young people and adults to be ambitious in their pursuit of skills to the highest level. Entering the competitions is proven to catapult a person’s career, build on their skills, test their knowledge against their peers in industry and showcase their potential to employers.

Rod, one of our directors was recently asked by the Association of Professional Landscapers to join the judging team this week for the APL Worldskills at RHS Tatton. Here’s more about the event;

The 2014 WorldSkills UK Landscape Gardening finalists have been revealed at RHS Flower Show Tatton.

Following a 22 hour build in sweltering temperatures at the show, Robert Wylie of CAFRE was declared the top scorer of the Landscape Gardening Competition, organised by the APL.

However, due to the high standard of work and all six students reaching the qualifying benchmark for the finals, Richard Carden from Reaseheath College, Sam Burks from Bishop Burton College, Dean Thomson, Jonathan Buchanan and Ronan McLarnon from CAFRE will now progess and compete again at the final at The Skills Show at the Birmingham NEC, where one of them will win Gold and be crowned the UK's Best Landscape Gardener.

The garden was designed by Alexandra Froggatt and competitors were scored in every aspect of landscape design including:

• Plants and turf. This includes both plan and freestyle planting methods.

Judges for the Landscape Gardening competition include garden designer Jody Lidgard, who has run his own landscaping firm for over 18 years, award winning APL member Rod Winrow from Garden House Design and 2011 WorldSkillsUK medal winner Simon Abbott.

Lead judge Jody Lidgard said; "Congratulations to all the competitors. It was a very close competition and workmanship was high in all gardens. I have every admiration for the lads who just keopt going despite the heat. They all should be proud of their achievements and they have represented their colleges with pride."

The APL were also delighted to win a Highly Commended award for their WorldSkills UK show feature.

Special thanks to sponsors Makita, Marshalls, Jewson and Greenwood Plants for their support in the WorldSkills competition.

After weeks of work at Chestnut Tree House it is nearly coming to fruition. The moongates and woodland walk are looking mystical and beautiful. We want a give a special thanks to our friends at Chestnut Tree House and Greenfingers Charity.

‘It Starts with a Pot’ is designed to show people that gardening does not have to be complicated but that it can be straightforward and fun.

We are taking part in this campaign by introducing Pots and Plants inside and outside our office and will be posting pictures on our Twitter account.

Through this campaign we are hoping to encourage more people to enjoy their outdoor and indoor space this spring. We are trying to demystify gardening and demonstrate how just by planting a few pots, or indeed any other containers, you can provide colour and impact to your space effectively

We are delighted to be the main landscape contractors for this amazing project which "breaks ground" today and starts a journey to create a magical outdoor environment. Keep up to date with our facebook posts to see the job coming to life!

PRESS RELEASE – prepared by Jane Wilson, Greenfingers

Greenfingers, the charity dedicated to creating magical gardens at children’s hospices around the UK, are set to start work on their first new garden of 2014 at Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice in Sussex this week.

The charity is creating a fully accessible magical woodland walk for the children and families who use the hospice to enjoy, utilising existing woodland that has previously been inaccessible to the children. Renowned garden designer Ann-Marie Powell has designed the woodland garden, with a landscape team from Garden House Design building the project.

Greenfingers have received amazing support from suppliers across the industry to help with the project at Chestnut Tree House. The charity rely heavily on gift in kind support for these major projects, with this garden benefiting from the products and services of Winner plant hire; The Millboard Company Ltd; Arun Landscapes; Stanton Bonna, Sussex Transport and Simon Groves, a local chainsaw sculptor who is creating woodland creatures for the garden.

As the project gets underway Emma Hanford, Greenfingers’ Garden Project Manager, took the opportunity to say thank you to those already involved.

‘We are now on the cusp of creating a really wonderful woodland walk for the children at Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice. We couldn’t do it without the wonderful support of those who have supplied us with essential materials, manpower and services to create all the elements we need – a huge thank you to all who’vebeen involved in getting the project to this exciting point.

Emma Hanford continued: ‘Although we are now ready to start building to garden there are still other materials and products are in need of – we are still looking tosecure native woodland plants, composted bark and wildlife habitats – if anyone can help us with those items we’d love to hear from them!’ The woodland garden is expected to be completed in around three months, in time for the children and families who spend time at the hospice to enjoy it over the summer.

The woodland garden at Chestnut Tree House hospice will be the 42nd garden to be built by Greenfingers. This garden will be built as part of the charity’s ‘Rosy Cheeks’ appeal, which aims to build at least ten more gardens at children’s hospices around the UK over the next two years.

See us at Hampton Court Flower Show – Stand IN267 – 8th July-14th July

Indoor and Outdoor living combine to fantastic effect with the new range of Terrace Coverings from RENSON®, sold and installed by Garden House Design, award winning landscapers.

Introducing the Algarve® at Hampton Court Flower Show this year on their stand IN267, Garden House Design are extremely excited about sharing the perfect solution to living outdoors all year round in the UK to Hampton Court visitors.

RENSON® presents 2 new terrace coverings with a horizontal sun protection and waterproof roof system, equipped with rotating aluminium blades: Camargue® and Algarve®. The water on the blades is drained away, sideways into a gutter. The Camargue® even includes a double gutter system and concealed guide water channels. These terrace coverings can be delivered with lights, heating elements and flat panel speakers. They can also be mounted in various ways: stand-alone, fitted to an outside wall or built into an existing opening. The Camargue® can be equipped with various elements on side and front: wind-resistant screens, glass sliding doors or sliding panels.

The new Camargue® and Algarve® combine an aluminum structure with a roof with inclination of 0°, made of blades. These 150 ° rotatable aluminum blades provide sun protection and ensure the necessary cooling and ventilation. They are installed parallel or perpendicular to the home. In closed position the roof is really watertight.

No problems with rain

The blades of these terrace coverings are designed in such a way that the water is drained sideways. The Algarve® includes a gutter which drains the water away from the blades into the columns. The Camargue® is equipped with a double gutter system (frame and span side). Even during heavy showers the concealed guide water channels drain the water towards the columns. This water drainage also operates when the blades are opened once it has stopped raining. This ensures that the furniture underneath remains protected.

Clever design

RENSON® has also paid considerable attention to the finishing details. Fasteners and fixings are virtually invisible, all electrical wiring can be concealed, and even the footings can be out of sight. These terrace coverings can be equipped with lights, heating elements and flat panel speakers. Plus they can be mounted in various ways: stand-alone (4 columns), fitted to an outside wall (2 columns) or built into an existing opening (without columns). The high quality of the materials used and the design of the Camargue® and Algarve® reduce maintenance to a minimum whilst guaranteeing exceptional durability.

Infinite customisation for the Camargue®

By incorporating wind-resistant screens, glass sliding doors or sliding panels, the Camargue® becomes an extra outdoor space that offers protection against sun, wind and rain. There are wind-resistant motorised Fixscreen® available in no less than 50 colours and these can be fitted with Crystal windows. In addition, you can build in glass sliding doors, which can also be combined with screens. The Loggia® sliding panels offer yet another possibility. These can be equipped with the same fabric as the screens (Loggiascreen® 4Fix) or with wooden blades (Loggiawood®). These elements allow the user to customise its terrace covering and make the solution fit into any building situation.

An ideal solution for every application

The Algarve® is delivered with a span side up to 4000 mm and a pivot side up to 6045 mm per element and is mainly used as a sun protection solution. The Camargue® can be ordered with maximum dimensions up to 4000 mm (span side) and 6100 mm (pivot side) plus is joinable, both at pivot and span side. This terrace covering allows the user to enjoy the summer the whole year long, without sun, rain, wind or coldness problems. Both solutions are suitable for new building developments and the renovation of private homes, business premises (restaurants, bars, …) and building projects (schools, healthcare, …).

To see the Algarve® in person or to discuss the Camargue®, simply visit our stand IN267 at Hampton Court Flower Show.

Whatever your style, our Spring collections are sure to inspire! Whether you are looking for a complete season make-over or simply wanting to add a few new and refreshing accessories, we have it covered. Sit back and enjoy our round-up of stylish collections helping you decide how you're going to embrace the outdoors this year.

{RE-FRESH}Bringing together beautiful garden accessories allowing you to “pimp” up your outdoor space.. Treating yourself to new items that {refresh} your garden was never easier with outdoor rooms, living walls, stylish furniture, along with pots and planters to dream about…or don’t forget that we offer a garden styling service if you’d like us to do it for you.

{RE-TREAT} Create continuity of style and colour from the garden into the house with our {retreat} collection. Bringing similar materials inside and out, creates a sleeker look and can also make the your overall spaces appear bigger. Use fibreglass pots, interior living wall planters and stylish furniture to dramatic effort indoors.

{RE-DEFINE} Embracing all sizes of outdoor life, from window-sills to tiny courtyards, this collection brings an array of ideas that allow you to {re-define} any space you have. Imagine one glorious deck-chair, surrounded by mini-living wall planters filled with fragrance plants and a tiny bird feeder to welcome feathery friends.

With daylight lasting a little longer each day, now’s the time to start thinking about your outdoor space. Sure you’ll have a long list of essential maintenance jobs to get done, but also allow yourself some time to think about designing and decorating your new look for 2013. We often find clients comfortable with styling their interiors even if that’s just new rugs and cushions each season, but not so sure about bringing those same principles into their gardens.

Try and find a little time this week or weekend, to take a coffee outside and consider what might get you excited. Here are a few ideas to get you started.

{Lounge in Style} – choose sophisticated but comfy outdoor furniture to maximise relaxing time with friends and family. Consider choosing sofas and benches to make outdoor living areas, as well as the more traditional table and chair options for your outdoor areas. We certainly won’t tell you off for eating pizza with your feet up on outdoor sofa!

Design your own {luscious green living wall} – tried walls, backs of sheds, not at all pretty fences can be instantly transformed with a simple easy to self- install living wall. Add two or three Living Wall Woolly Pockets Planters, fill with soil and lushious ferns, fragrance plants or grow your own crop vegetables.

Add interest with {Planters} – easy to add an instant WOW factor to any outdoor space by adding a few funky and chic garden pots. We stock some gorgeous fibreglass planters in all shapes and sizes allowing you to “pimp” your garden easily.

{Paint} a wall or fence with a vibrant colour – consider choosing a colour that will provide a good background to any planting or features that might sit in front. Could you paint a shed, a summer house, a dull wall or even some trellis to really refresh your outdoor space.

When you coffee-break is over, why not simply look a little further into our website shopping area to see all the lovely items we have to offer here at Garden House Design. As with all of our products, we have picked only the very best, and please don't hesitate about calling us about any of them we are a website with real people to answer your queries.

You could even consider getting one of our {garden stylists} to provide you with further inspiration. This might be a full re-design or a seasonal update. Simply call us on 01903 774-774 to discuss your ideas.

It was great to see everyone (especially those who beat the "snow") at our region's Marshalls Register Road Show last night. We have been members of the Marshalls Register of Approved Installers for over 10 years, and are consistently encouraged by the range of services and support that Marshalls offer their members.

There are quite a few "approved tradesman" schemes on the marketplace, but it is really important to understand how companies are vetted to gain membership. Marshalls are very careful who they allow to enter their scheme and constantly visitor and monitor their members to access their levels of competence and performance. Marshalls recognises the vital part the installer plays in the correct installation of their products and by having approved installers across the UK, they are assured that customers choosing their products enjoy peace of mind combined with the guarantee of a quality end product finished to the highest standards.

Another great reason to choose us at Garden House Design for all your patios, paths and driveways, knowing that we only work to the highest standards approved by companies such as Marshalls.

We were delighted to hear that the new Cobbletech Driveway System is proving popular with other members. We have already done some large driveway projects using the Cobbletech products ourselves and both us and our clients have been delighted with the results. Just follow this link into our Driveways section to learn more.

If you would like to receive a "hot off the press" Marshalls Gardens and Driveways catalogue 2013/14, then simply phone us on 01903 774-774 and we'll get a copy straight out to you.

Always on the look-out to spot trends first, we nipped into HOME in London, the definitive trade show for the very best homewares and interior accessories.

Whilst perhaps a bit early to really shout out about what trends we might see outdoors, it is always great to see first hand what designers are going to be using on the inside, as we all know that the garden is becoming used as much more of another "room" in the house.

It was lovely to see get in out of the rain and imagine a summer full of picnics, outdoor eating, and generally lazing in the sun. We spotted fabulous bean bags, canvas cubes, outdoor lamps, picnic rugs, and much more. Lots of vibrant colours mixed with the more classic palete of greys and whites allowing customers to really personalise their outdoor areas in a much more stylish fashion. Still good play on animal pictures, scrabble letters, and floral prints playing a big part with geometric shapes seeming very vogue which is easy to replicate outdoors with all the amazing wood and paving products we have to make design features with.

For us this year it's about continuing to create the very best product range full of fun and innovation, yet practical and comfortable at affordable prices. We are looking to ensure that we also keep a "sensible – just in case" approach and choose products and create ideas for shelter, warmth and light to make sure that if we don't all get the ideal summer we can still enjoy our gardens.

Why not consider a wicker basket full of lovely soft blankets ready at the back door, to pop around your shoulders as you sip wine into the evening around a firepit? it dosn't all have to be about sun-tan lotion and sun loungers!

If you spot products, make or sell great outdoor things, let us know we love a good "snoop" around the web sourcing great ideas, and can talk about living outdoors all day long!

Presents almost bought, menus arranged, guests invited, letters written to santa ….but have you thought about getting your garden ready for Christmas? why not treat your trees to some pretty fairy lights, add a wreath to the door or sneak a few Poinsettia's onto your windowsills. And don't forget bringing the outdoors in by adding a few bud vases to your table decorations, or mantle pieces, filled with red or white roses and arrange with tiny tea lights in festive holders. Show us your designs!